Metal flanging or cutting and flanging machine



Sept. 1, 1931. N. "r. WILLIS ,821, 5

mam. FLANGING 0R cunme AND mmeme ncruus Filed Jun a, .1929 2'Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY. ,1

p 1, 1931- N; T. wu |s 1,821,457

METAL FLANGING 0R CUTTING AND FLANGING MACHINE Filed June 8. 1929 2Sheet s-Shee t 2 JTecZ T W'Zls,

ATTORNEY.

I N VEN TOR.

Patented Sept. 1, 1931 TEE NEID T. \VILLIS, 01 FEW YORK, N.

METAL FLANGING': R G'U'TTING AND FLANGING Application filed June 8,1923. Serial No..369,4'16.

ti -curved edges of irregular contour, such, for

example, as one of the sides of a multi-sided lantern, it is desirableto flange the curved edge either for the purpose of giving a nice finishonly to the edge or to also give the sheet the appearance of beingthicker than it is, sothat a thin sheet metal plate may havetheappearance of being a thick metal casting. It is difficult, however,and in many cases impossible, to produce such plates by F stamping, orto flange the-edges of the plates by the roller machinesand bending-orbreaking machines in common use without transverse fracture of thehanging, and :it is en'- tirely impossible toforni smooth and prac-'tically unbroken flanges by the methods and means in general use wherethe edge to be flanged is intricately curved.-

One object of the present invention is :to

provide a machine whereby inost intricately curved edges of a sheetmetal plate maybe easily, conveniently and quickly flanged and flangesof perfect form produced.

Another object of the invention is toprovide a machine forsimultaneously cutting aura-ed margins upon or openings in sheet metalplates and simultaneously hanging the edges along the lines ofcut;

The invention consists of :thefea tin'es of construction, combinationand arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed,reference heing had to the accompanying drawings, in which F 1 is a sideelevation of a machine with tool designed for hammer-Hanging sheet metalplates.

2 is a front elevation of the machine.

a View of the movable die membcrand anvil'or stationary die .member, thelatter appearing in section, illustrating the hanging action.

Fig. with edge margin as flanged by the machine.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view-thereof.

Fig. -6 is a view similar to Fig. 13 and showi is a plan view of a sheetmetal'plate ing the dies constructed 'fora combined outting and flangingoperation.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the supporting base of themachine, on which is mounted a "U-shaped body 2 comprising upper andlower parallel arms 3 and 4t connected at their rear ends by .a' union5, said :arms being spaced at their. forward ends to provide aworlethroat above the base for the reception :and movement of a sheetmetalplate to :be acted upon and for the movement of the movable diemember.

The base 1 supports an anvil body 6 having an opening 7 extending fromside to side thereof and through its top :to receive a removable anvildie or stationary die member -8. Thisdie member 8 is provided withaforward surf-ace =9 and a rear surface 10 arranged at differenthorizontal levels. The surface 9 intersects a surface 11 on the anvilbody 6, so as to form therewith a table to support the part of the sheetmetal plate which is to 'be flanged. This table is arranged below thelevel "of the surface '10 of the die member, the "forward edge of whichprovides a straight vertical gaging or abutment surface or shoulder 12.The

rear edge of the surface {9 terminates just in advance of the gagingabutment 12, so as to providelan intervening hanging I groove or recess,the inner wall-of which is formed by the shoulder 12 and the outer wallof which is formed by surface 13, providing a curved, "beveled, orinclinedfianging shoulder between the groove andsur face ,9.

Mounted on the arm '3 is a reciprooatory needle bar 14 carrying a chuck15 to receive the hammer tool or movable "die member 16, which diemember is of narrow width and movable downwardly into the flanging Vgroove "and provided with a hanging shoulder 1? for cooperation with theHanging shoulder of the stationary or anvil die member.

The machine is employed for fianging the curved edges of ornamentalsheet metal plates, such, for example, "as that shown "in Fig. 4 Theplate 1'8here 'shownis designed for one of the sides of a mu'lti-sidedlantern casing, and is provided with an opening 19 of a desiredgeometrical shape, the marginal edge walls of which are bent inwardly toform a flange20 ofa type produced by the flanging dies of the machine.Assuming that the metal removed to form the opening 19 has first beencut out in any suitable manner, the plate 18 is brought to rest with oneof its port-ions upon the table 11 and its raw edge portion which is tobe flanged abutting against the gaging edge 12 of the die surface 10.lVith the plate in such position the movable die member 16 is set inteaction so as to cause its acting surface 17 to engage and bend or flangethe edge of the 'metal downward into the flange and groove and againstthe shoulder 13 of the anvil die. In the operation of the machine, thenarrow movable die member reciprocates several hundred times per minute,and gives a corresponding number of short, sharp, hammer blows upon theedge of the metal and acts upon a small portion or area of the metal ata time, the plate 18 being shifted, similar to the manipulation of thework being operated upon a scroll saw machine, so as to bringsuccessiveedge portions of the plate into registration with the acting'diesurfaces, so that within a definite period of time the entire marginaledge portions of the plate will be flanged. By this method of operationthe edges of a plate of whatever geometrical form, and no matter howintricately or compoundly curved, may be flanged in a smooth andaccurate manner and without breaking through the metal of the plate atany point. \Vhen plates so formed are assembled to form a lantern casingor other similar object, the flanged edges of the plate give a highlyornamental and pleasing appearance and at the same time they also givethe effect of thickness to the plate, so that the plate will appear likea cast plate, and of much greater thickness than it really is.

By the use of a removable anvil die mem ber 8 and plunger or hammer diemember 16, said die members may be made interchangeable with other diemembers having acting surfaces of different sizes and shapes, so thatthe dies in use may be adapted to act upon all kinds of plates, ofvarious degrees of thickness, and with edges varying to great degrees inshape or curvature.

The movable die member may, in practice, be operated in any suitablemanner. In the present instance I have shown an electric motor 21mounted upon the frame arm 3 and the shaft of which is connected by aneccentric 22 with the reciprocating die bar 14, whereby the plunger diemay be reciprocated to make a very large number of working strokes perminute of time, as will be readily understood.

In Fig. 6 I have shown a modified form of the invention in which thedies are constructed to cut out metal from a plate so as to produce anopening 19 and to simultaneously form the flange 20 upon the margin ofthe opening at each point of out. In this construction the anvil die 8is provided with supporting or table surfaces 23 and 24 at differenthorizontal levels to respectively form supports for the portion of themetal which provides the complete plate body 18 and the portion 19 ofthe metal which is cut away to produce the opening 19. The said diemember is also provided at the angle of intersection of said portions 23and 24 with a beveled or inclined flanging shoulder 25 and straightvertical gaging shoulder 25 and a groove slot or recess 26 openingthrough the top of the anvil die between said shoulders. The plunger die16 in this construction is provided with a flanging shoulder 17 and withan extension 27 terminating in a cutting edge 28. In the operation ofthis form of the machine, the plate blank is rested upon the surface 23with the part l9 overlying the surface 24 and the pattern lineindicating where the cut is to be made overlying the slot or recess 26.On the downward movement of the plunger die 16 the edge 28 coacting withshoulder 25 which acts as a stationary knife, will cut through the metaland the extension 27 will enter the slot or recess 26 and guide theplunger die while its flanging shoulder 17 is flanging the cut edge ofthe plate body 18 against the flanging shoulder 25. lVith thisconstruction of device sheet metal plates of any outline shape anddesigned to be made with openings or exterior margins of any curvedshape may be easily and quickly cut out on the machine and the edgesthereof flanged. It will, of course, be understood that in the cuttingand Hanging operations the plate blank will be shifted by the operatorin accordance with a drawn pattern to successively bring the properparts of the plate into registration with the dies, and that, ifdesired, any suitable type of gage may be employed to assist theoperator in this work.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim 1. A machine forflanging the edges of sheet metal plates embodying a stationary diemember having surfaces at two different levels, a groove between saidsurfaces, a flanging shoulder on one of said surfaces at one side of thegroove and a gaging shoulder on the other of said surfaces at theopposite side of the groove, and a reciprocatory die member fordelivering hammer blows upon the edge of the metal and to force it downinto the groove and against said flanging shoulder.

.2. A machine for flanging the edges of sheet metal plates comprising astationary die member having surfaces at two dilferent levels, agroovebetween said surfaces, a flanging shoulder on one of said surfaces atone side of the groove and a gaging shoulder on the other of saidsurfaces at the opposite side of the groove, and a coactingreciprocatory die member having a fianging shoulder for engaging theedge of the metal and forcing it down into the groove and against thefirst-named flanging shoulder.

3. A machine for fianging the edges of metal plates comprising astationary die member having a fianging groove, a flanging shoulder atone side of the groove, and a gaging shoulder at the opposite side ofthe groove, and a reciprocatory die member movable in said groove tobend the edge of the metal against said flanging shoulder.

4:. A machine for flanging the edges of sheet metal plates embodying astationary die member having an anvil, a removable stationary die membercarried by the anvil and having a flanging groove,-a flanging shoulderat one side of said groove, a gaging shoulder at the opposite side ofthe groove, a reciprocatory anvil bar, and a plunger die member carriedby the anvil bar and having a coacting flanging shoulder.

5. A machine for simultaneously forming curved edges upon sheet metalplates and Hanging said edges, comprising a stationary die member havinga flanging groove, a fianging shoulder at one side of said groove, and agaging shoulder at the other side of the groove, and a reciprocatory diemember having a cutting knife and a flanging shoulder to successivelycut through the metal and force the edge of the metal so produced intothe groove against the anvil die flanging shoulder.

6. A machine for fianging the edges of sheet metal plates comprising ananvil die member having surfaces disposed at different levels, a recessbetween said surfaces, a straight vertical shoulder on one of saidsurfaces at one side of the recess, and a beveled shoulder sloping fromthe other surface downwardly toward the recess at the opposite side ofthe latter, and a reciprocatory movable die member movable downwardlyinto said recess and having a flanging shoulder to force the edge of ametal plate against said beveled shoulder of the anvil die member. a

7. A machine for fianging the edges of sheet metal plates comprising ananvil die member having surfaces disposed at different levels, a recessbetween said surfaces, a straight vertical shoulder on one of saidsurfaces at one side of the recess, and a beveled shoulder sloping fromthe other surface downwardly toward the recess at the opposite side ofthe latter, and a reciprocatory movable die member movable downwardly

